Serious Owen Road Pek Kio food centre - why got Gastroenteritis ?

[Victory2016]

Can this be the reason?

 

[kiwibird7]

Ever see the way 'cleaners' wipe the tables at Food Centres. They do so with the same dirty rag throughout the whole day. No disinfectant is sprayed on the table at all.
With this kind of NEA standards which makes all the A, B and C grades a mockery, might as well be eating from illegal hawkers, what is the difference besides the payment of fees/licenses which does not guarantee any safety from food poisoning or even death? Illegal hawker's food is so much cheaper.

So far has anyone died or suffered food poisoning from illegal hawkers selling EPOK EPOK, OTAK OTAK etc while many have suffered at the hands of NEA licensed hawkers.

 

[Rushwind]

Ever see the way 'cleaners' wipe the tables at Food Centres. They do so with the same dirty rag throughout the whole day. No disinfectant is sprayed on the table at all.
With this kind of NEA standards which makes all the A, B and C grades a mockery, might as well be eating from illegal hawkers, what is the difference besides the payment of fees/licenses which does not guarantee any safety from food poisoning or even death? Illegal hawker's food is so much cheaper.

So far has anyone died or suffered food poisoning from illegal hawkers selling EPOK EPOK, OTAK OTAK etc while many have suffered at the hands of NEA licensed hawkers.

The same rag that was used to wipe the tables was also used to wipe the trays, as I have observed. Therefore, for hygienic reason, please do not place your cutlery (chopsticks, spoons, and forks) on the tray when collecting your food. Also, please wipe down your cutlery with tissue paper before using them.

 

[jinjiaho]

View attachment 27101

Can this be the reason?

Lucky I am using a tablet. Otherwise its difficult to see on my computer screen.

You could learn how to rotate your pics.

Poor birdie is going to fall down due to gravity.

 

[Narong Wongwan]

The same rag that was used to wipe the tables was also used to wipe the trays, as I have observed. Therefore, for hygienic reason, please do not place your cutlery (chopsticks, spoons, and forks) on the tray when collecting your food. Also, please wipe down your cutlery with tissue paper before using them.

I dun use the trays unless i have to.
Sometimes you can even smell the pong from the trays....and they aren't even wipe clean....very unhygienic

 

[scroobal]

I agree with views expressed thus far. Maybe someone with knowledge can explain how the inspection takes place. My understanding is that hawkers and their stalls are inspected and awarded the grading. Maybe the cleaning contractor needs to be rated as well. I have seen the cleaning process getting worse over the years. The cleaners are also getting older and they are struggling.

In the past, i used to bring foreign guest to hawker centres but stopped about 5 years ago. I have seen cockroaches, rats, birds and even cats feeding from the table. The cleaning cart is also quite disgusting as it pushed from table to table.

I remember the old days when hawkers handled this themselves and sometime helped one another. It was certainly much cleaner and more hygienic even when the place was crowded. I know the challenge with hiring staff but we would continue to get out breaks of which we will never find the answers.

 

[Victory2016]

Pay cleaners fairly

 

[kiwibird7]

The same rag that was used to wipe the tables was also used to wipe the trays, as I have observed. Therefore, for hygienic reason, please do not place your cutlery (chopsticks, spoons, and forks) on the tray when collecting your food. Also, please wipe down your cutlery with tissue paper before using them.

Don't know what kind of 'training' is provided by NEA to food centre cleaners. Which is why I say all the A, B and C certificates awarded to each stall is IRRELEVANT when the break in hygiene occurs at the cleaner's level. Customers eat and spit out bones and food remnants on table, some customers may even be TB carriers!!!! TB bacteria are quite resistant and difficult to kill.

Wiping all cutlery with tissue preferably with anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Better also to wipe the table top with these to dis-infect the table too.

 

[johnny333]

The only time the authorities take hygiene seriously is when there is an outbreak. Otherwise it's business as normal & back to "what's wrong with making money"

It may have worked back when there a were fewer foreigners around. Many foreigners don't have good hygiene habits & may be carriers of disease. We don't know because the PAP are letting these people into the country without a proper health screening:(

 

[FangSinGuek]

the common thread is water........ why pple so dumb cannot find the rootcause?

 

[shittypore]

The only time the authorities take hygiene seriously is when there is an outbreak. Otherwise it's business as normal & back to "what's wrong with making money"

It may have worked back when there a were fewer foreigners around. Many foreigners don't have good hygiene habits & may be carriers of disease. We don't know because the PAP are letting these people into the country without a proper health screening:(

Many cleaners i hve sooken with, says their pay per wk is less than 150. I dont blame em for having the tidak apa attitude, u die ur business.

 

[eatshitndie]

Many cleaners i hve sooken with, says their pay per wk is less than 150. I dont blame em for having the tidak apa attitude, u die ur business.

sinkies should clean up their own mess and not rely on cleaners or maids to clean up after them.

 

[babuSingh]

In Hong kong where i stayed for years, diners at a fast food restaurant clear their own trays. Only sinkies leave the trays lying around and expect people to clear it for them.

 

[garlic]

In Hong kong where i stayed for years, diners at a fast food restaurant clear their own trays. Only sinkies leave the trays lying around and expect people to clear it for them.

IF everyone cleared their own plates, ah mas and ah kongs, no work, cant even bring in $150 per week liao.. how?

 

[eatshitndie]

IF everyone cleared their own plates, ah mas and ah kongs, no work, cant even bring in $150 per week liao.. how?

there's still much work to be done at the tray station sorting out utensils, bowls, plates and clearing the mess on trays. if cleaners were to concentrate on their static jobs at the cleaning station doing the dishes and not stray around with filthy carts, swilling bins, and dirty cloths clearing eaters' mess and cleaning tables, they would have little to no chance to spread bacteria and germs all over the food court.

 

[johnny333]

there's still much work to be done at the tray station sorting out utensils, bowls, plates and clearing the mess on trays. if cleaners were to concentrate on their static jobs at the cleaning station doing the dishes and not stray around with filthy carts, swilling bins, and dirty cloths clearing eaters' mess and cleaning tables, they would have little to no chance to spread bacteria and germs all over the food court.

This is not new behaviour in the food courts of Spore. The "authorities" are aware of this behaviour.

Are you saying that they are failing to hire enough manpower to do a proper job? $150 for extra cleaning staff is not much when you consider the rentals the hawkers are already paying.

If the cause of the problem is due to customers not clearing the tables I'm sure the authorities would be quick to point the finger. The fact is they are clueless about the cause of the outbreak. I think this is scary because this same problem may re-occure again.

 

[shittypore]

This is not new behaviour in the food courts of Spore. The "authorities" are aware of this behaviour.

Are you saying that they are failing to hire enough manpower to do a proper job? $150 for extra cleaning staff is not much when you consider the rentals the hawkers are already paying.

If the cause of the problem is due to customers not clearing the tables I'm sure the authorities would be quick to point the finger. The fact is they are clueless about the cause of the outbreak. I think this is scary because this same problem may re-occure again.

How much do Management Companies charge for running Town Councils? It would be mind-boggling.

 

[kiwibird7]

This is not new behaviour in the food courts of Spore. The "authorities" are aware of this behaviour.

Are you saying that they are failing to hire enough manpower to do a proper job? $150 for extra cleaning staff is not much when you consider the rentals the hawkers are already paying.

If the cause of the problem is due to customers not clearing the tables I'm sure the authorities would be quick to point the finger. The fact is they are clueless about the cause of the outbreak. I think this is scary because this same problem may re-occure again.

It has NOTHING to do with diners clearing or NOT clearing their own trays with regards to food poisoning outbreaks. The table tops are EXTREMELY DIRTY; teeming with potential disease microbes from Salmonella, E Coli to possibly drug resistant TB bacteria.

The main issue not recognised is CROSS CONTAMINATION due to the re-using of the same dirty old rag from one soiled table to the next. The same problem of CROSS-CONTAMINATION occurred at SGH resulting in the HEPATITIS outbreak even among professional health care staff.

Cleaners should be using disposable gloves, a strong disinfectant and a single use throw away wipe with regards to cleaning tables soiled by food and tissues left on the table.

Until a clear protocol for cleaning tables is established it makes NO SENSE in awarding "A", "B" and "C" grading certificates displayed at each hawker's stall because the weakest link in the chain is the unhygienic cleaning of tables.

A SECONDARY ISSUE not dealt with is the presence of animals at hawker's centres; birds flying onto table tops, stray cats roaming around tables etc indicate a high probability of other disease bearing pests lurking too (rats, cockroaches, houseflies etc)

 

[johnny333]

It has NOTHING to do with diners clearing or NOT .......

It is interesting that after investigating the matter the "authorities" can't find the cause of the problem

So case closed & it's business back to normal

 

[kiwibird7]

It is interesting that after investigating the matter the "authorities" can't find the cause of the problem

So case closed & it's business back to normal

It is now a "NO BLAME" policy (you die, your business) with regards to govt agency cock-ups now ever since the HEPATITIS outbreak fiasco at SGH.